Life's complications 2
by kuntakintae
Summary: Two years has passed since Annabeth met Percy and gang. Life has changed into a hundred time better than before. But all good things come to an end. The past is catching up, and romance is budding, and rivalry and jealousy coming along with it. Will their lives crumble to what it was before, or would they be able to preserve it? Continuation of life's complications. R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! LONG TIME NO UPDATE! I jug ended my exams yesterday, and immediately started on this. I really hope you guys are still interested in this story :) In case you don't know, this continues Life's complications (Obviously, since this story is called Life's complications 2 HAHA) Well, this is just the start, so I'm summarizing everything that had happened in The first story. Enjoy!**

**One more thing. I've corrected the mistake here. Cya!**

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**Annabeth's POV**

It's been two years since I moved to Manhatten. Two years since I met Percy, Nico, Thalia, Grover, everyone. I have to admit, these two years have been the best years of my entire life.

I guess you can say that I've become a totally different girl from who I was two years ago. If you compare the present me with the me from two years ago, you'd be seriously shocked.

You see, two years ago, before I moved here to Manhatten, my entire life was pretty messed up. I had to work for myself, I could barely survive with the money I was earning, I had less than four hours of sleep per day, school was hell for me because of bullies and I was generally alone in the world. There was no one there to support me. I had no friends, no family who cared, people who scorned me wherever I went, and conniving bastards who ended up betraying me.

Because of all of that, I thought that the whole world was cruel. I had thoughts of suicide, and didn't even recognize kindness. I had thought that everything was hopeless in my life, and there wasn't the slightest chance I would ever find happiness. During that time, I had often wondered why I hadn't committed suicide yet. But, till today, the answer is still unbeknownst to me.

The only thing I can say about that is I'm really, really, tremendously glad that I hadn't killed myself then. If I had, I would have never felt true kindness, true happiness before…I would have never experienced what I have been experiencing for the past two years.

When I had come to Manhatten, everything was alien to me. Compared to the Bronx, Manhatten was at least ten times more crowded, and definitely at least twenty times noisier. Even in the middle of the night, other than a few certain areas, the place would still be teeming with life.

If it hadn't been or Percy, i don't think I would have been able to adapt so quickly to Manhatten.

I hadn't been expecting Manhatten to be such a change to me then. Sure, I was hoping for a new start, hoping that I wouldn't run into any bullies, get any attention and stuff like that. I was hoping for a better life, but not by much. I did not, no, was not able to foresee the life that was waiting for me at Manhatten.

Well, where to start…I'll start with Percy then. He was actually the first person to talk to me when I had reached the Bronx. He just came up to me as I walked into my new house, asking me for my name, with that goody, lopsided grin of his. But, of course, I had to almost screw things up by jumping back in fright and scaring both us. Most people would immediately leave, thinking that I was a lunatic, or some mental patient.

But this boy-whom I think is really too outgoing with strangers for his own good- didn't do what others would do. When I had called out to him, he had turned back. When he had came up to me, I had freaked out. He had turned to leave, but I had called him back. Most people then would have already decided that I was some kind of mental patient, and would have ignored me. He was different. He didn't leave. Instead, he had turned.

And oh, I feel so damn lucky that I had not given up that opportunity then, that I had not pushed him away or given up. Because of that decision, because of that one event, my life changed for the better.

Percy became a very good friend, and is currently my best friend to me. He had, firstly, somehow broken the walls around my heart by showing me unending kindness, kindness that was out of this world. He never gave up.

The first thing he did was to bring me around our current school. I was alone then, and didn't know anyone other than him. Usually, people would just say they were busy and not bother with me at all, but he did. He even introduced me to his group of friends, who, by the way, accepted me almost immediately.

And from then on, Percy and all his friends suddenly invaded my life. They brought me out for lunches, to hang out, Percy started walking me home from work, started making breakfast and bringing dinner for me, started to treat me with overpowering hospitality and kindness…well, you know why he's my best friend now.

"Heeeyyy, Wise Girl, stop staring into thin air. It's unsettling." Percy's voice whined from my right, breaking my train of thoughts. I rolled my eyes and stuck my tongue out at him.

"I was thinking, unlike someone here, who has too much seaweed in his brain to think at all." I retorted playfully, which made him glare at me. I chuckled, and he sighed.

"Whatever…" He muttered, causing me to grin from ear to ear. He had never beaten me before in arguments. I plan to keep it that way. "So, you coming this Sunday? Usual time and place?" He asked me. I nodded.

"Of course! I wouldn't trade it for anything else! IT's probably one of the most fun times in a week!" I exclaimed, and we both laughed at the thought of our Sundays. Grover, Nico, Thalia, Percy, Juniper and I always hang out at Percy's house to chat at Sundays. Over the years, the things we did there for entertainment got more…extraordinary.

There was once that the kitchen got filled with foam. Well, it wasn't really on purpose that we accidentally opened and sprayed a fire extinguisher while trying to whack a piñata with it.

Another time, Percy's whole house got turned upside down, all because we were trying to catch a mouse. Grover ended up falling down in the toilet, with his head stuck in the toilet. He smelled like…well, toilets, for an entire week. Understandably, he didn't come to school for the same entire week either.

"Yea, of course you won't." Percy flashed his trademark, lopsided goofy grin. "I'll see you tonight?" He asked. I sighed in exasperation and nodded.

No matter how many times I had told him not to fetch me, ever since that day where I got ambushed and beaten up by Ivan and his gang, Percy never missed a night. Out of all the days I had gone to work, he never failed to fetch me home. I was extremely touched by his care for me, but it also made me feel guilty. Someday, I _will _repay all the kindness he had shown me.

"Yea yea, not like I can stop you." I grumbled under my breath. He snickered and stood up from his seat. The class was mostly empty, safe for a few hardworking students staying back to finish their homework before going home.

"I'll be going now, have to talk to Mr Brunner. See ya!" Percy gave me one last grin and waved his hand casually. I grinned and waved back. I watched him as he left the classroom, and proceeded to pack up my stuff. I couldn't help but smile. Life was much better.

Just that, at that time, I had no idea how much trouble would come into my seemingly perfect life.


	2. The beginning from an end

**Yo guys. Sorry that I'm not updating quickly. Currently, I'm getting back all my exam papers, plus i have competitions coming up, so the best i can do is update weekly for now. Sorry! :(**

**Anyway, i hope you'd like this chapter. Just a little more emphasis on the change in Annabeth. One more thing, I'm not really sure whether i want to use Micheal Yew cuz I'm scared there are lovers of him here. I'm sorry if you don't like me using him as a 'bad guy'...it's just that if you noticed, i think i didn't introduce him at all in the first part of the story. Sorry once again!**

**R&R! I love all ya reviews!**

**~Kuntakintae**

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**Percy's POV**

"How was work?" I asked Annabeth as we walked back home. She sighed and massaged the back of her neck.

"Tiring as always. I feel older and older each time I work…" Annabeth complained. I chuckled and poked her arm.

"I'll be expecting white hair and wrinkly old skin then?" I asked in a playful tone. She glared at me and slapped away my finger.

"Shut up. It's not my fault that I have to work, y'know…" Her sentence grew softer with each word, and her eyes lost focus, as though she was thinking about the cause in the first place.

Truth be told, even though we've been friends, best friends, for the past two years, I still don't know everything about her yet. I knew about the bullying and changing of schools, but she never told me about the family that she left, and there were a few hints that there was one particular person that made her fall the hardest.

Well, at least she has become way more open and friendly to everyone else over the past few years. I had hoped that she would trust me enough to open up to me more, but she never did. Maybe she thought that it was of no importance. Maybe she thought that we were not trustable enough yet. I'd never know until I ask her, and I do not want to push her.

I've always had this little voice in my head, always telling me that if I did one simple mistake, like pushing her a little too far, she would disappear from us forever. For some unknown reason, the very thought of her disappearing from my life gave me a very…unsettling feeling.

I then realized we had been silent for a while. I could also see that Annabeth was starting to feel a little uncomfortable. Her shoulders were tense and she was walking rather quickly.

"Ah well," I said in a light tone, hoping to loosen the tension in the atmosphere. "At least I'm here to pick you up and bring you dinner everyday!" I exclaimed with a wide grin. My grin widened slightly as I saw her smile. The tension dissipated

"Stop flattering yourself, Seaweed Brain." She teased. I scowled at her.

"Hey, it's true!"

"Okay, okay."

"It really is true! I swear!"

"I get it already."

"Something tells me you're just being sarcastic." She laughed at that sentence.

"Never knew you could spot it, Seaweed Brain. Congrats!" She praised sarcastically.

"Whatever, Wise Girl." I muttered, and sped up.

"Hey, wait up!" She called from behind me. That, of course, just spurred me to go faster.

When we reached Annabeth's house door, I'm glad to say that she was already panting.

"Damn…you…Seaweed Brain…" She gasped. As for me, I merely stood there and smiled at her toothily. She glared at me when she saw the smug smile.

"I'll get back at you one day." She promised once her breathing went back to normal rate.

"I'll be waiting, Wise Girl." Her glare intensified. I laughed and put my hands up.

"Alright, alright. Sorry Wise Girl. I'll try to restrain myself from making you suffer next time!" I said, with a hint of amusement that I could not keep from my voice. Of course, being the sharp girl she was, she caught the amusement in my tone.

"I give up…" She huffed and turned towards the door, taking out her keys from her bag and unlocking it.

After two years, the place had really changed quite a bit. Last time, this place was seriously empty. All there was inside was the basic furniture needed to have a comfortable life. No decorations, no personal stuff, no nothing.

Now, one would say that her house was filled with way too many stuff. The walls of her house, which once had nothing on them, were filled with pictures of the rest and me. There was one picture of when whole group went to the new amusement park just down the road. Another one was when we had went to try out paintball. That one was kinda funny. We were all covered in different colors, hence it made us look like human kaleidoscopes.

"Go and bathe. I'll set up the table, and maybe cook a few side dishes along with the noodles. I heard that these type of Hong Kong noodles tastes well with luncheon meat." I said, walking towards the kitchen.

"Thanks once again, Percy." She said with gratitude. I waved my hand as I walked.

"As I said, it's my choice. No need to thank me." I called. She didn't reply. I wasn't expecting anything from her anyway.

Twenty minutes later, Annabeth came out in her usual loose gray shirt and black Bermuda. I've noticed she always wore the same thing for the past few years. It's like she washes it everyday. Later on, as I observed more, I noticed little differences between the sets of clothes she wore everyday. If one observed closely, she actually had a few sets of the same clothes. The only guess I could make was that she did not know what other clothing would fit her home wear.

"Don't you ever wear any other clothing out?" I asked her as she sat down on the table and I served the food.

"I don't need to spend money on any other clothing." She huffed. I chuckled.

"But isn't washing your clothes everyday more expensive than getting another set of home clothes? I asked slyly, taking a seat opposite her. She stayed silent for a short moment before sighing.

"…okay, I admit. It's because I have no idea what else to buy. I have five sets of these," She pulled at her shirt. "Clothes. I have no idea what other home clothes would be nice." I punched my fist in the air.

"Yes! I guessed correctly!" I exclaimed. She stared at me for a few seconds, stunned at my reaction, before breathing out, exasperated.

"You're seriously a Seaweed Brain. No one would object if I asked them." She said, causing me to glare at her playfully.

"Start eating already. It's a different type of food today." She smiled as she started to pay attention to the recently cooked and heated noodles and luncheon meat in front of her.

"The menus different everyday, thanks to you," She said with a large grin. "I know it's selfish, but I wish that this would go on forever. Your food seriously tastes better than restaurants' food!" She exclaimed.

"Perhaps, if you paid me…" I said in mock seriousness, before laughing away at her attentive face.

"No, no, no, don't even think about it," I said, waving my hand. "I won't accept any cash even if you wanted to give me. Cooking is kinda fun to me anyway." Annabeth's attentive look fell off her face, and she frowned and pouted.

"I seriously wanna repay you for the food, y'know…" She muttered, crossing her arms. She had tried to give me money several times, but I had always rejected them. Overtime, her attempts became lesser and lesser. At some point of time, which I cannot remember, she stopped trying entirely, though she still grumbled about it from time to time.

"You're already repaying me by being an awesome friend." I assured her. She blushed a little at the compliment. After so long, she still wasn't able to accept compliments well.

Still, compared to two years ago, when she always stared right at the person and asked "You were complimenting me?" with a unbelieving, yet small voice, she was way better.

"Whatever…" She murmured and started to take her dinner.

"Do you need a drink?" I asked her after I got tired of hearing her slurping on her noodles.

"Ice water please. Thanks once again, Percy." She said with a bright smile. Her reaction to kindness has grown better too.

"No prob." I replied as I went to pour a glass of ice water for both of us.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" I asked.

"Well, I still have work tomorrow. Unless you're coming to make breakfast again…"

"Of course I'll do that. See you later, Wise Girl." I said as I walked out of her house.

"Yea, see you later, Seaweed Brain." I could hear the smile in her voice. I waved my hand as I walked back to my house.

Once I reached back home, I immediately went and took a shower before checking my mail.

"What…" My eyes stared in shock at the content of a mail that I had opened. "He's…that fucking…he's coming back? That two-faced, son of a bitch is coming back?" I muttered angrily, my face turning darker and my light mood ruined with each passing second.

_Micheal Yew was coming back._


	3. A small trip, a surprising revelation

**Hi guys! I'm really sorry for the late update! **

**OKay, I'll be truthful here and say that i was a little lazy to continue writing. Please forgive me! It's juz cuz holidays just started and i'm really lazy during holidays!**

**I hope you like this chapter! I personally feel that i liked the ending XD Well, i dunno, its up to you and its your opinion. Anyway, i hope you will like this chapter!**

**PLs R&R!sorry again!**

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**Thalia's POV**

"Still against us?" I asked Nico, who just sighed and nodded. I wasn't expecting anything else anyway.

"Two years, and he can't even let me be in peace as I date you. Such a bastard…" Nico grumbled darkly as we trudged down the road towards the school gate.

"Why are we here so early again?" I said in a tired voice. "I've slept for only five hours!" I exclaimed.

"I wanted to bring you out for breakfast." Nico said, flashing a bright smile at me. "In fact, we're already here." He said as he pointed at a signboard above us. I grinned as I saw the words "Burger king".

"Your favorite food, Thals." He stated. My grin widened as I heard him say that. No matter how many times he did this, it still makes me smile to know that he bothers to wake up early to bring me to eat my favorite food.

"Once again, you're the best boyfriend I can ever have." I complimented, hugging him tightly. His face reddened a little, but he smiled nonetheless, his eyes gleaming with happiness. I grabbed his hand.

"Lets quickly go and eat!" I exclaimed and pulled him in with me. Since it was still the early hours of the morning, the place was understandably quite empty. Students who ate their breakfasts occupied only around five to six tables. Even though Manhatten was an extremely crowded place, the place where they stayed in was noticeably less busy than the rest of Manhatten.

"Good morning. Welcome to Burger King, a place where you get the best burgers in the world. What would you like to order." The cashier said in such a monotonous, robotic voice that she sounded like she hadn't asked anything at all.

"Two turkey and ham, with hush browns, and two milos." Nico ordered for the both of us.

"Thank you. Please wait here for the food to be ready." She said in the same voice as the previous time before moving off to prepare our drinks. My eye twitched at her extremely boring and obviously disinterested behavior. Her tone alone annoyed me to no end. Gods, she's supposed to act all cheerful and welcoming, not some emotionless cashier.

"Did you tell Percy about coming out early?" Nico asked inquiringly. I shook my head.

"I didn't even get a chance to tell him. He wakes up so early, he was already gone when I woke up. Unfortunately," I said as I patted my stomach. "He had already prepared some breakfast, so I had to eat them. Don't worry. I have enough space fpr Burger King too. Just watch." I said cheekily, grinning playfully at him before wolfing down anything and everything that was on the tray.

It took me forty two seconds to swallow the whole burger down, chew the hush browns. While I was cleaning my mouth with a tissue provided by the restaurant, Nico was not even a quarter done with his meal. When he saw my empty tray, he shook his head and sighed resignedly.

"You're always so greedy for food…I often wonder why you're not even fat yet." He said exasperatedly. I huffed and crossed my arms.

"I just have high metabolism or something." I muttered in reply, causing him to chuckle.

"Okay, fine, high metabolism rate, fine…" He continued to eat his meal, cutting off the ridiculous conversation.

"Thanks." NIco looked up at me with questioning eyes. I smiled at him.

"Thanks for everything, Nico. The past two years have been the best years of my life. More than half of the happy and joyful things I have went through this ear were because of you." I said, smiling softly at him. He grinned at me and nodded.

"Well, it's a boyfriend's job to make their girlfriend feel like they're at the best time of their lives all the time, isn't it?" He said, winking at me playfully, causing me to make a disgusted face and press my palm into his face.

"Don't stare at me like that. It's disturbing." I said, turning away with a scowl on my face. I couldn't help but smile slightly as I heard him chuckle.

"I get it, Thalia, so can you please let go of my face so that I could eat?" He asked. I laughed and released his face from my grip. His hands immediately flew to his face and rubbed it.

"That was a little uncomfortable…" He muttered. I shrugged.

"Deal with it. That's what a boyfriend should do, right?" I asked with a cheeky grin. He glared at me, and then went back to eating silently. Most people would think he as really angry. But, knowing him, he probably just decided it was a waste of time to argue and instead went back to eating his breakfast.

"Let's go. I'm filled up to the brim!" He exclaimed as he swallowed down the last bit of his meal. I nodded.

"Yea. You eat real slow for a boy, y'know?" I teased.

"It's just that you eat abnormally fast, even for a boy." He retorted.

"What? Clarisse eats as fast as me!"

"Clarisse is a monster, worse than you! You can't compare her to yourself! Compare yourself to an average girl, not some overpowered huge girl!"

"Fine, whatever!" I looked away from him and sulked. I heard him chuckle, and glared at him.

"What's so amusing? Bastard." I asked. He smiled at me cheerfully, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

"Well, it's just that I wonder how people can be so scared of you. Sometimes, you act like a six-year old kid!" He laughed as my glare intensified.

"You…" I growled, my hand reaching out to whack him on the head. He quickly stepped away from me and pushed his hands out.

"Chill, chill! Just joking!" He laughed. Despite my "anger", I couldn't resist the grin surfacing to my lips.

"You always get under my skin, Death Boy." I complained. He smiled and gave me a thumbs-up. I rolled my eyes at his action and walked on.

A few seconds later, I suddenly heard him gasp. I spun around to see him staring at the phone with wide, shocked eyes.

"What's wrong?" I asked curiously, leaning over to see what he was looking at. His face suddenly broke into a freakishly happy and overjoyed grin as he showed me the screen. My eyes widened as I saw the email.

"He's…coming back! Oh gods…yes! The music boy's coming back! We'll get free musical entertainment from here on out!" I shouted, punching my fist into the air, my face radiant with happiness.

"Yep, the music prodigy, Micheal Yew, is coming back. Three cheers for him!" Nico shouted into the air.

That day, when we hared the news with everyone, we found out that all of them also received the same email. The Stoll brothers were screaming for joy, jumping on tables and telling everyone the news. Beckendorf and Silena were commenting about how they would get their favorite romance musician back again. Juniper and Grover were beaming, happy to get their friend back. Clarisse and Chris were discussing on what heavy metal songs they should get Micheal to sing and play for them. Annabeth was simply wondering who Micheal was.

Strangely, when we calmed down, we realized that Percy was nowhere to be seen.


	4. A warning

**I know that this chapter is a little short, and not much, but I'm just hinting here and there, and going at my usual slow pace. Please bear with me :)**

**Anyway, anyone already gotten the new upcoming game "THe last of us"? I know there are some that get it early cuz of some promotion thingy? Anyway, i would really, really like to know the ending. Seeing the demos on youtube already makes me feel so excited. Unfortunately i don't have a ps3, and won't be able to get one anytime soon, so i can't play.**

**I would greatly appreciate it that if you have it already, can you please pm me about the ending? I heard that once again, it was a really sad ending, and seriously, i really want it to be a happy one T.T Well, who knows, once i see the ending, i may even write my own version of the ending XD**

**Also, recently, I've been going crazy about Post-apocalyptic stuff, and am planning to write one soon. Percy would be a really mysterious person, Annabeth would be a very impt person in a resistance grp, and they are on a different planet, their last home, their last chance. Well, anyway, please enjoy this chapter and R&R! :)**

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**Percy's POV**

"Where did you disappear off to just now?" Thalia asked me as we walked down the hallway towards out lockers. It was lunch time, which meant that the next session would be Weapon Art Class.

"Had a stomach ache, needed to go to the toilet." I said nonchalantly. Thalia looked at me for a second, and shrugged. I sighed in relief mentally. Well, it wasn't as though they knew I had a reason to lie to them, so I guess she didn't even try to find out whether it was a lie or not.

The truth was that I had taken a long walk to the secluded gardens of the school, and started cussing and swearing like there was no tomorrow. I couldn't help it. They acted so cheerful, so happy that Micheal Yew was coming back.

But of course, he couldn't blame them for feeling that way. After all, Micheal Yew had treated all of them very nicely in the past, always singing nice songs for them, playing musical instruments that makes them feel better. They had no reason to doubt that his kindness was just for show. That he had a deeper motive behind all his actions.

At that time, it was because of…her…but then he…he…

I scowled as I heard Thalia start to rattle off more about Micheal Yew and his amazing talents and stuff. For my own good, as well as for hers, I shut myself out from her words, determined not to lose my cool.

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"Stomachache." I simply said before sitting down on the table. The others looked at me as though I had just read their minds.

"You guys are too predictable." I smirked. They all rolled their eyes at me and chuckled.

"Anyway, you know that he's coming back, right?" Nico asked me. I miraculously managed to contain myself from rolling my eyes at his excited tone, and nodded.

"Yea, got the email same time as you guys." I lied. The truth was, I had gotten the notice a day before they got the email from Micheal Yew. I wasn't surprised that he didn't send me the email-probably too scared. The only reason I found out was because I had some…outside connections.

"Cool. You two can go surfing together again during the summer holidays. Maybe we can even invite Rachel along." Beckendorf suggested. My whole body stiffened at the mention of Rachel's name, and it took all my willpower to stop myself from blurting out…things that I shouldn't.

"Nah, lets not disturb her. She's really busy now." I said in a carefree voice. Beckendorf looked at me weirdly.

"I thought you would be the one to support this idea the most. After all, she _was _your-" Beckendorf was cut off by Travis and Connor suddenly shouting "Food fight!"

Immediately, the whole canteen became a war zone. I sighed as I dodged a flying banana and made my way to the exit. The Stoll brothers usually only did it when they were really happy. Considering the circumstances, they were happy alright.

I caught a glimpse of Annabeth's shocked face, and swiftly changed direction towards her. She was new to this, and I did not want her first experience to be getting hit in the face by a flying tomato or a piece of steak.

"C'mon, we gotta get out of here." I said as I knelt down. Annabeth was, like every other inexperienced person in this kind of situation, hiding beneath a table. So far, she hadn't been hit by anything. But if this continued, she would most definitely get hit.

"What the hell is this?" She shouted over the din. Food was flying everywhere, and sounds of screams, shouts and laughter filled the canteen. I could hear Beckendorf shouting "Back off! If not I'll smash you with a pie!" And the Stoll brothers screaming, "Flying bananas rock!" I rolled my eyes at that statement.

"Food fight. I'll explain once we get out. Stay here any longer, not only will we be hit by a dozen types of food, we will get detention too." Annabeth's eyes widened even further, and she nodded vigorously. She never had a detention once in her entire time here, and she didn't plan on getting one anytime soon.

"Lets go." I said, turning around just in time to see an apple flying towards us. I scowled and raised my hand, catching it perfectly. I turned around.

"Lets go." I repeated, and took a tray from the table Annabeth was hiding under before standing up. Annabeth quickly followed suit, taking another tray and holding it in front of her to protect her body from any food.

Finally, after two torturous minutes, which consisted of dodging, ducking, smacking away food with their tray and generally doing what people would do to escape a place filled with flying projectiles.

"Why are they so damn crazy…I've never experienced this in the two years I've been here…why now?" She complained as we staggered through the hallway. With extreme luck, we had gotten out "Unscathed". I chuckled.

"It's the Stolls who usually start the food fights…but they only do that when they're very happy and hyper…like now." I explained, frowning as I remembered the reason why they were happy in the first place.

"Why do you seem so displeased?" Annabeth suddenly asked. I jumped, and immediately corrected my facial expression, just realizing that it had unknowingly changed from a frown to a full-blown angry scowl.

"Nothing. Nothing. I just get a little irritated by the food fights. That's all." I grinned with fake humour. Annabeth looked at me suspiciously, and nodded.

"Okay…" she muttered. I knew that she didn't believe me, but I also knew that she was smart enough to deduce that pushing me would not get any results.

"Anyway, who is the Micheal Yew guy that the whole group keeps talking about?" She asked, her voice laced with curiosity. I sighed and rubbed the back o my head in exasperation.

"He was a…very good friend to everyone in the past. He left a year before you came. Went overseas to study more music types." I said with a tone that probably didn't match the others.

"You don't sound too excited about it, unlike the rest." Annabeth stated. I sighed again, and thought about how I was going to tell her.

"Look, Annabeth," I called, my tone dead serious. Her head snapped towards me, her attention caught by my tone. "Do not tell the others I told you this, but please try not to get too close with Micheal Yew." I said. A frowned creased her forehead as she thought over what I had just said.

"Why? The others seem to think that he's a very good friend." I scowled at the thought of that.

"I…can't tell you, Annabeth. No one else knows, and I plan to keep it that way. I don't want…anyway, just try to heed my words, okay?" I asked, looking straight into her eyes. She looked straight back, studying, observing, with her gray, intelligent eyes, and then nodded.

"Alright…I'll try." She said unsurely. Not what I wanted, but I guess that's the most I could get from her, due to the fact that she would not judge someone so quickly without even meeting him before. I nodded appreciatively. We continued the walk in silence for a few more seconds. I thought she was going to ask some more deeper, more personal questions when she opened her mouth. Well, it wasn't any of that.

"So, what's for practice today?" And I knew that the subject was dropped for now.

_For now, at least._


	5. Just another night

**Hi guys. Sorry bout the late update, I'm over seas now in a camp so not much time to write. This isn't one of my best chapters, but its the most i can write for now. Pls R&R!**

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**Annabeth's POV**

I'd love to say that I managed to forget about Percy's troubling words and moved on with the day with a peaceful mind, but I'd be lying if I did.

The truth was that I spent the rest of the day pondering over his words so much that even at work, I managed to get seven orders wrong, and the cook had to call me three times twice to deliver the plates of food. I apologized profusely to everyone about my attitude that day.

Surprisingly, even the boss forgave me, telling me with his strict voice and sharp eyes that I probably had something very troubling in my mind, which was right on the spot.

I sighed as I stepped out of the shopping mall. The place was quiet and other than the lamplights dimly lighting the roads up at the sides of the roads, the whole place was dark. I shivered as I looked at the surroundings.

Even after two years, I couldn't really forget what had happened. I mean, it is kinda impossible to forget almost getting beaten to death. I never dared to walk back home alone again that day. Thankfully, I didn't need to. Percy never failed to show up. Ever since that day, he had never once failed. I wanted to tell him not to try so hard, but I didn't. Call me selfish, but I _wanted_ him to come and walk back home with me everyday. He made me feel safe.

My shivering stopped and I smiled as I saw said boy making his way towards me, with his usual lopsided grin. He waved in greeting as he stopped beside me.

"How's work today?" He asked as we started walking. I shrugged.

"Normal." I lied. How could I tell him that I practically screwed up the entire day? He was no dumb idiot, though he acts that way often. Keyword-acts. He would be able to guess why I screwed up, and would probably go into another round of trying to persuade me to not think about it too much, just follow the advice.

"Hm. Well, anyway, I made some dinner. One of our favorites- curry chicken and lettuce and steamed rice." I grinned widely as I heard him. It was a simple, but really delicious meal, especially when its Percy who's making it.

For some reason, his meals are always better tasting than restaurants and the school canteen's food. It's as though he made his own recipe, and had memorized everything. I even tried to test whether he was following some different recipe of his own once.

It had been a Saturday, and he had been cooking curry chicken again. He always used the usual packet curry to cook, and I had memorized the instructions on the back of the packet.

After observing him for the whole of the cooking, I came to a conclusion that he definitely did _not _follow the instructions at all. First of all, he didn't even look at the packet. Second, he had cooked the curry for a longer period of time that instructed. He had also added more water, and many other spices.

When I questioned him about it, he smiled and winked at me. "Secret." He said mischievously. I gave up asking him after two weeks.

"I hope it's the same as every other day?" I asked. He grinned and nodded.

"Seeing how your eyes always shine like a five-year old whenever you eat it, , I wouldn't be able to change it, wise girl." He laughed as I glared at him and huffed in annoyance.

"Whatever. As long as it's awesome as usual." He gave me a mock surprised look.

"Did you just compliment me, Wise girl?" He teased.

"Shut up, Seaweed Brain." He chuckled.

"First time I won in three months." He said, his voice full of pride. I rolled my eyes at him.

"That's nothing to be proud of, considering that you practically just admitted that you've been losing every other one for the past three months." His proud look dissipated into a disappointed one.

"Can't you just let me have one moment of glory in peace…" He muttered, causing me to laugh.

"When you get an A for English, Seaweed Brain, than maybe I will." I teased. He glared at me, which caused me to grin cheekily at him. He knew that I knew he would _never_ be able to get an A for English.

"That means never then…" He complained under his breath, almost inaudible, but since it was dead quiet in the surroundings, I obviously heard him. I chuckled at that.

"Correct." I stated. He just threw me a withering glare and looked away, probably not wanting to embarrass himself anymore. We then walked the rest of the way home in comfortable silence.

* * *

"Is it good?" He asked me cautiously as I took a sip from the curry. The spiciness of the curry took every single feeling of exhaustion out of my body. It was really good, as usual.

"You know the answer yourself, Seaweed Brain. I've been saying the same thing for the past few years." He shrugged.

"Can never be too safe, y'know." He stated as he took a seat opposite me. I looked at him curiously.

"Want some?" He shook his head.

"Eaten already. I've been telling _you _this for the past few years." He got back at me. I grinned impishly.

"Good. Means that I can have everything for myself again." I said, and with much vigor, tackled my late dinner. I could hear him sigh in exasperation, but I knew that he was smiling.

"You..." He trailed off, and sighed again. I grinned with my mouth full when I looked up. He rolled his eyes, but the smile on his face told me that he wasn't even annoyed.

"Don't judge me. I haven't eaten for six hours!" I exclaimed with my mouth full, causing some curry to shoot out of my mouth onto the table. As fast as lightning, Percy jumped back, his chair crashing onto the floor. I burst into full-blown laughter when I saw his disgusted face, which of course made me spit all of the food in my mouth out towards him.

It was then that Percy, once again, showed his lightning reflexes and dodged towards the side before any of the food could even touch the floor. I looked at him in astonishment. Even though I've seen it a couple of time already, it never fails to amaze me. His reflexes were off the charts.

"Woah, chill!" He exclaimed, his face filled with disgust as well as amusement. It was a funny sight. The not so funny sight was that the whole table, as well as the floor was covered with curry and rice and stuff I spitted out. It was really gross.

"You're cleaning this up. No question about it." He stated, his face having the "no-nonsense" look. I nodded.

"Sorry, sorry." I repeated, but after a few seconds, we were both grinning like idiots. After all, it wasn't the first time this had happened.

After getting the whole place cleaned up, and eating up the remaining food, we sat around the table in the living room, chatting away about life in school while drinking hot milo.

"It's getting late. You gotta go back." Percy said, pointing at the clock on the wall, which showed that it was already three in the morning. We had, once again, got so lost into out conversation that we did not notice the time. I sighed as I stood up, a little disappointed.

Frankly, these were the times of the entire day I enjoyed the most. Just sitting alone, without much noise, chatting about normal stuff with Percy. He was different from the rest-he was my first friend, and currently my closest, my best, my most trusted friend.

"See you then." I waved as I walked towards the door. As I walked, something caught my attention. It was the picture of a younger version of Percy with his arm around another boy's neck whom I don't know who it is. I could tell that the two of then were real closed, seeing how they smiled and how their arms were around each other.

The strange thing was that I had never heard of him speaking about that person. Whenever I asked him, he would just say that he was an old friend, and would not elaborate any further.

"Bye! See ya tomorrow!" He called as I walked towards my house. I waved and smiled before entering my house.

For the rest of the time, I couldn't help but ponder about that picture. It wasn't the first time I was pondering over it, but it certainly was the first time I felt that there was just _something _that recently appeared that was connected to the picture. It was right there, but just out of my reach.

Finally, the thought struck me. I had never seen the boy before in reality…the fact that Percy kept his picture around for so long…the boy must have left Manhatten. That's why I've never seen him before.

"Micheal Yew…" I muttered under my breath. Of course, there was a really high chance I was wrong, and that the boy in the picture was not Micheal…I needed to find out more.


	6. Micheal's back

**Well, Really guys, sorry about slow update. I'm updating once a week for this story since it seems like currently not many are reading it, and that i have another story I'm crazy about at the moment.**

**Nevertheless, I'll still continue to update this story weekly, so yea. Enjoy this chapter! :) **

**R&R!**

**~Kuntakintae**

* * *

**Percy's POV**

I was in a bad mood, and it wasn't because I had woken up at four in the morning, nor was it because the heater had broken that morning.

"That bastard is coming back to school today…" I grumbled darkly, my hands swiftly travelled across the cooking table, taking ingredients that were needed to make the breakfast.

Memories began to flash past my vision. All the good times…and all the bad times…

I shook my heard roughly, and violently threw one of the ingredients into the soup I was making, causing some of it to splash out. I cursed softly as one scalding hot droplet landed on my arm. I quickly wiped it away on my shirt and continued cooking.

"Don't let my emotions control me…" I reprimanded myself, slowly stirring the boiling pot of soup. I heard a door open somewhere outside, and I knew that Annabeth had just woke up.

"I smell something nice." She stated, her voice sluggish, but also laced with amusement. I shrugged, taking out the ladle and placing the cover over the pot to let it boil.

"Normal soup of the day for Thursdays." I grinned at her, my earlier anger already diminishing. She smiled in appreciation.

"Thanks again, Seaweed Brain." She teased, causing me to roll my eyes. "I'm just gonna wash up and change. You taken your breakfast yet?" She asked. I shook my head.

"Well, I'm still cooking, aren't I?" I asked, knowing that I was about to make a successful attempt in irritating her. She always lost in the morning- her brain doesn't function as well when she just wakes up from her slumber.

She scowled at me, realizing her mistake. "Whatever. You can start eating first if I'm not out by the time the food is finished." She huffed and walked out of the kitchen. I chuckled at her antics, and went back to preparing the breakfast. Soup wasn't the only thing we were eating that day.

* * *

"You don't seem to be in a very cheerful mood today." Annabeth's voice broke my chain of thoughts. My head snapped up to find her staring at me curiously, with a little worry in her eyes. We had eaten the scrumptious meal I prepared that morning, and were walking to school.

"It's nothing. Just brooding over something. It's not that important." I lied. She could see that I was lying, but decided to let it drop at the moment.

"So, where are we going for lunch today?" She asked.

"I don't know…but I think for today, there will be something special." I said, trying to keep the anger and irritation out of my voice.

"Again, you don't sound happy about it." She stated. I kept silent, not bothering to answer her. The more she talked about it, the worse my mood became. She took the hint, and went quiet. That was how we walked the rest of the journey.

When we were reaching the school gate, I glanced to the side and noticed her staring at the ground as she walked. I knew that look on her face- it was one when she was thinking over something really seriously.

"We're here." I informed her. Her head shot up, a little surprised.

"Sorry," She said, lightly slapping her cheek. "Was thinking about something. Didn't notice at all." I nodded.

"Can tell." I said, causing her to smile embarrassedly.

"Well, whatever. Anyway, did you do the homework that…"

"Class, let me introduce a returning student. He had been here a few years ago, but left due to some family business. He's back now since his family is moving back here. Please welcome him nicely." The teacher said in his monotone voice.

"You can come in now." The teacher said, facing the door. I could see Thalia, Nico and the rest of the gang leaning forward in their seats in anticipation. I scowled at that, anger starting to boil within me once again.

I quickly controlled myself, removing the scowl from my face and replacing it with a blank stare. I could feel Annabeth's eyes on me, but I ignored it.

I almost lost all control and threw a book at Micheal when he came in, with his freakishly big guitar and his usual bright smile that promised good humour and friendliness.

"_All fucking fake."_ Were the words that swam through my mind as I stared at my old best friend. He walked to the front of the class and gave a big wave.

"Hello dear classmates," He said in his musical voice that I could never forget. "in case you don't know me, I'm Micheal. Last time, I represented the school in a national musical contest and won first place. I was in charge of the school band before I left. It's good to meet you!" He told the class. The rest of the class, even those that did not know him in person, stared at him in shock.

Micheal was a legend in the music section of the country. In the juniors national musical contest, he had won first, and he had gotten third in the national senior musical contest a few years ago. Anyone who was interested in music would know him.

"Yea, the music boy's back!" Thalia exclaimed, punching the air with her fist. Just then, the whole class erupted into cheers. I glanced to the side, expecting to see Annabeth cheering with them. But no, it was even worse than cheering.

She was staring at him in fucking _awe!_ I glared at Micheal fiercely, silently urging him to look into my eyes. I didn't even take my eyes off im for a second.

He was waving and smiling everywhere, exclaiming "Hello! Hello!". He then caught my eye, and I felt a little sadistic pleasure when I saw his eyes widen in fear and his body stiffen. He quickly recovered and looked away, going back to what he was doing. But that split second was enough to make me feel at least a little pleased.

He hadn't forgotten, and he knew that he would be receiving hell from me for it.

"Quiet down please," The teacher's monotone voice cut through the noise. Slowly, every one settled down, their shouting reduced to quiet mutterings about Micheal. "I'd like Micheal to sit beside Annabeth."

Micheal literally froze as he saw which seat the teacher was referring to, while Annabeth just looked slightly amused. As for me, I was glaring daggers straight at the teacher and Micheal, silently cursing the teacher for placing Micheal beside Annabeth.

I could see Annabeth observing Micheal closely, her stormy grey eyes taking in his sight. She always did that to judge people's character. I groaned in my head. Even her eyes would not be able to see through Micheal's façade. Nobody had seen it in the past, and what makes her so special that she would be able to see it now?

"Hi. Your name's Annabeth?" He asked Annabeth as he sat down beside Annabeth. My eye twitched as I saw him shoot a friendly smile at Annabeth, who gave an unsure one in return.

"Yup. You're Micheal, right? I've…heard about you." She said with a little hesitation. I knew that she was thinking about my words to her about him.

"Oh, really?" He asked curiously, tilting his head to the side with a questioning look. Annabeth nodded.

"From Thalia and the others. Said you were the singer of the gang or something." Annabeth said. Micheal's eyes widened in surprise when he heard her.

"You're with Thalia and gang?" He asked incredulously. My eyes narrowed when I heard his tone. It was as though he couldn't believe someone like her would be in the gang. Annabeth caught the tone too, but seemed to shake it off, deciding that it's just surprise.

"Yup." She confirmed. Micheal's mouth shaped into an 'O' as he took in the information, nodding his head slowly.

"Looks like I'll be seeing you more and more often, then." He said, giving her a large, flirty grin. I was a little relieved when I saw Annabeth nod without hesitation, and no sign of embarrassment whatsoever. It meant that she had not fallen for his charms yet.

They stayed quiet for the rest of the class. Micheal immediately went to sleep whereas Annabeth continuously jotted down notes about the class without stop. As for me, I was glaring into my desk, fuming silently. I could feel Annabeth's gaze from time to time, but didn't break my glare on the table.

* * *

During lunchtime, the canteen was noisier than usual. Well, it should be, since the school's rock star had just come back to town. Micheal was laughing and chortling at every thing and everyone.

When I reached the table with Annabeth, the whole gang was already seated, all of them talking excitedly about what they want Micheal to sing, how Micheal had been, bla bla….

I scowled even deeper when they all stood up and went to hug Micheal when he reached the table. They patted him on the back, made jokes, asked him how his life had been and so on. Annabeth was quietly standing beside me, but I knew she was urging to go in and listen in on them.

"You going?" she asked. I sighed and shook my head.

"I'm sure you want to find out more about him. Go on then. Just remember, and heed my warnings." I said seriously, staring right into her eyes before turning around and walking out of the canteen.

I knew that if I had sat down with them, I certainly would have snapped and try to break his neck. Normally, I would be able to control my emotions and restrain myself.

But for that fucking _murderer, _it was definitely a different case.


	7. Their past

**HI GUYS! SORRY FOR THE LTE UPDATE!**

**Incase you're wondering, I've been working on my other story about "The Last Of Us" and didn't really have much time to write this.**

**i don't think this is a well-written chapter. I think that there may be a few mistakes, but i really need to go to bed now, and i don't usually check my work anyway HAHAHAHAHA**

**Anyway, this is just informative chapter. Enjoy and R&R please!**

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**Annabeth's POV**

I frowned as I watched Percy's retreating figure. The eyes that had just stared at me…they were not the usual sea-green, cheerful, light-hearted eyes of Percy Jackson.

Instead, it was a totally different kind. His eyes had seemed darker, and much more…mature. It held pain, sadness, and hatred. I had never seen eyes that held that much anger, and I definitely had not expected to see it from Percy's eyes.

I turned and stared at Micheal, scrutinizing him, observing his movements, his speech, his body language…everything. Everybody around him seemed to love him. He was definitely easy-going, and was really cheerful and friendly.

Even with all my observation, I could not detect any extremely negative traits and personalities about him. Even Thalia, Grover and Nico were chatting with him cheerfully and exuberantly. It seemed like everyone liked him.

But, I trust Percy more than anyone. If Percy tells me to be careful, I will be careful.

Slowly, I walked towards the table. Frankly, I was a little uncomfortable. Everybody else in the group seemed to know him quite well, and was all chatting away with him easily. I was the newest in the group, and had no idea who the hell he was. I was the oddball.

"Hey, Annabeth, c'mere! Lets get you two to know each other!" Juniper exclaimed, waving from the table with one hand, and pointing at Micheal with the other. I considered turning and walking away as fast as I could, but I fought against it and walked towards the table. My days as a small, shy girl were over.

"Hi. What's for lunch?" I asked. Juniper grinned at her and lifted her fork, which was stuck into a piece of broccoli.

"Well, they're serving steak," Juniper said, her grin fading away. "But I don't like eating meat, so yea, broccoli it is for me!" She exclaimed cheerily. I chuckled at her antics. Same old Juniper.

"Oh, by the way, have you met Micheal yet?" She inquired. I noticed that her face was gleaming- she was way more cheerful than usual. Was it because of Micheal?

"Well, yea…he sits beside me in one of the classes now." I told her. Her eyes widened in slight surprise, but she recovered a split second later.

"Still think you two should introduce yourself properly to each other. I'm pretty sure you guys didn't do that in class," Juniper said with a wink, knowing that Annabeth rarely got distracted in class. Annabeth stuck out her tongue at Juniper, which caused said girl to chuckle too.

"Hey, Micheal!" She called. Micheal, who was talking to Chris, turned back and looked at he questioningly. She grinned widely.

"I know that you two have already talked, but I'd like you two to properly introduce yourself to each other." She said enthusiastically. Micheal rolled his eyes good-naturedly, but chuckled nevertheless.

"You always were fussy." He teased, causing Juniper to playfully smack his arm.

"Yea yea, whatever. Get on with it. She's the newest here, so she obviously doesn't know who the hell you are." She replied. He grinned and nodded, then turned towards me and stretched out his hand.

"Hey there. I know we've already talked, but since this girl," He used his other hand and pointed at Juniper with his thumb. "Wants us to be introduced properly, we're doing it. So yea, hey there, My name's Micheal. I was here a few years ago, but had to leave 'cause of family matters. Now, I'm back!" He exclaimed the last part cheerfully with a large grin. I tentatively took his hand.

"Hi. I'm Annabeth. I moved here two years ago. I was introduced to this group by Percy." i informed, studying closely, trying to see if there was any reaction to Percy's name.

There certainly was. I could even feel his grip on my hand tighten up. His face stayed as it was, but I had spotted the slight twitch of his eyebrow. And his eyes. His eyes were the most expressive. I could see emotions pass through them like a river. I saw pain, guilt, anger, jealousy, and many more. But, in a split second, all of those signs disappeared, and he regained his composure.

"I see. Percy's a great guy. Bet you guys are close friends!" He exclaimed, and I could tell that it was forced. There was definitely something going on between him and Percy.

"Well, anyway," he said, retracting his hand and facing the group. "You guys still carry out Thursday meals?" He asked curiously. Everyone beamed at him, and nodded.

"Yea, 'course we do! It's been a little less fun without your music though! You coming with us today?" Chris asked excitedly. Micheal laughed and nodded.

"Of course! I'd really want to catch up with my old friends." He stated, causing everyone to laugh with him. Once again, I was confused.

Everyone seemed to like him so much. What's more, he could easily make the whole gang laugh. He was so friendly, so easy-going. Everyone looked up to him, liked him, and treated him as a damn close friend.

As they talked, I pondered over the whole situation. As far as I knew, almost everyone in the gang were good judges of character, and all of them were so friendly with Micheal. It made me wonder why Percy hated him so much.

I would have doubted anyone else who had told me not to trust Micheal. But, it was Percy, and so far, Percy was the best judger of characters I had ever seen. But I couldn't help but be puzzled at why the gang's and Percy's opinions of Micheal were so vastly different.

* * *

"Can you tell me about Percy's and Micheal's relationship?" I asked Silena as we walked towards our lockers, and winced mentally. I hadn't meant to be so direct and straightforward, but her curiosity as well as frustration over the whole ordeal was making her impatient. Silena's eyes widened in slight surprise at the sudden question.

"Why do you ask?" Her voice was filled with amusement and puzzlement. I shrugged nonchalantly.

"Just curious. Seemed to me like the two were close before." I simply guessed. I was relieved when she perked up, as I knew that I had guessed spot on.

"Well, yea, the two were real close a few years ago. I'm actually quite puzzled as to why the two haven't even talked yet." Silena said, absently twirling her silky black hair with a finger as she pondered.

"So…how were they like?" I asked. Silena smiled brightly as she recalled.

"They were like brothers, even though they were not related to each other by blood. They did almost everything together. We used to call them the three musketeers." She said, and I caught a hint of wistfulness in her voice.

"Three?" I questioned, deciding to pry in a bit more. Silena sighed sadly this time.

"Yea, three," She stated, her eyes a little downcast now. "There was Percy, the mysterious, brooding but overly-friendly and understanding boy. There was Micheal, the music prodigy, easy-going and really fun. And lastly, Rachel, the really creative artist, with such a loving personality that many people would just love to be in her presence." I frowned at the mention of Rachel. The only time I had heard that name was from someone in the gang who had mentioned it to Percy.

"Where is she now?" I asked. Silena sighed again.

"Gone. To who knows where. She and Micheal both went out of Manhatten around the same time. We never heard from her again, and no matter how hard we tried, we couldn't find her. Also, she and Percy were once a couple." I was really shocked at the newly revealed information. Percy had been in a relationship once?

"They lasted all the way till both Rachel an Micheal left. Percy didn't appear at school for days, and he didn't let any of us come into his house. He had shut off from the world." Silena exhaled deeply. "It was understandable. At one go, and his girlfriend and best friend left him. He never contacted them again, as far as I know." I stayed silent, analyzing the new information.

"Wonder why Percy and Micheal hadn't even said a word to each other yet, as far as I can see. Percy didn't appear for lunch either…" Silena trailed off, talking to herself. I resisted the urge to just tell Silena that Percy and Micheal were not friends anymore.

Instead, I merely kept quiet, and when they reached Silena's locker, which was a little nearer than mine, we said our goodbyes and "see you later" before I walked the rest of the way to the locker.

All I could think of was that something must have happened between the three. Something so terrible that made Percy despise the person that was once his best friend. And she had the gut feeling that Rachel played a big part in it.


	8. Percy?

**YO GUYS! nothing much to say other than that THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS! even though its considerably lesser than last time, i still appreciate them.**

**Anyway, i may be slow in updating cuz i'm currently working on two stories at one go. This story, and another one about 'last of us' So i may be bit slow. And i have school and stuff.**

**Anyway, PLEASE REVIEW! R&R AND ENJOY! :D**

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**Nico's POV**

"Where's Percy?" I asked Thalia as we walked towards the meeting point, which was at downtown today. She looked surprised, as though she had just realized that Percy was missing.

"Oh yea, Percy!" She exclaimed, as though she had forgotten about him. I scowled at the realization that I also noticed it only a minute ago that he hadn't been around us for the whole day. "Haven't seen him since the period before lunch. Must be busy or something." She suggested. Her voice was monotonous, but her frown told otherwise.

"Now that I think of it, He and Micheal hadn't even said a single word to each other ever since Micheal came back."

"Well, they could've talked when we weren't there." I replied. She pondered over it for a moment, and then shook her head.

"As far as I remember, we've been with Micheal for the whole day, and not once have we seen Percy whenever he's around except in class." Confusion filled my mind.

I had thought that Percy would be the happiest person to see Micheal, but now, when I think about it…

"Percy may have been avoiding him…" I muttered. Thalia perked up at the suggestion, and replayed the day's events in her mind. Class, when they didn't even see each other in the eye, lunch where Percy didn't join them…He even skipped the classes after lunch.

"Maybe…" She agreed, nodding her head. "Wonder why though…" She said to herself, her eyes glazed over as her mind ran through whatever crazy imagination it held.

"Hey-" I said, lightly rapping the side of her head with a knuckle, but before I could continue, she jumped back, startled, her hands poised in front of her as though she was ready to fight. When I saw her reaction, I burst out laughing. She glared at me fiercely, relaxing her hands slowly.

"Sorry! Sorry! Didn't know you were thinking _that _deep." I said in an apologetic, yet amused tone. She huffed.

"Better not do that next time, Death Breath," She growled. "Anyway, what did you want to say?"

"Just wanted to stop your imagination from running wild. Don't come up with too many assumptions just yet." I told her.

"Whoever told you I was doing that?" She asked in a defiant tone.

"It was obvious."

"No, it wasn't even true."

"You can't lie to me."

"I'm not lying. How do you even know I'm lying?"

"'cause I know you." I retorted with a wide grin. I was pleased with my efforts when I saw a light blush surface onto her cheeks. She scowled, annoyed by her reaction and her feelings of embarrassment.

"Yea, whatever. I was thinking that maybe they fought over what song was the best. Or maybe over which football club was better. Or maybe even because they're in different gangs-if they are in gangs. Who knows, it may even have something to do with Rachel. Maybe Rachel had se-" She spouted out all the assumptions from her whacked-out brain that made me dizzy.

"Stop, stop! I don't need to hear any more crazy nonsense." I exclaimed dramatically, pushing the palms of my hands against my ears, covering them. I could feel her glare, and chuckled teasingly, tensing my body for a hit.

As I expected, a hit did come. She always hit me playfully whenever I teased her over something, but her hits were quite painful and stings a little. I'd never tell her that though- that may make her feel guilty. She doesn't know her own strength.

If it was any other boy who wasn't in the Weapon Art Class, they'd probably be cursing and swearing, 'cause they rarely feel the pain of having a wooden practice weapon hitting you with full force. What's more, Thalia had exceptional strength compared to others. Maybe except Percy and a few others.

"Shut up." Her voice sounded distorted, due to my covering of my ears. I smirked at her as I let go of my hands.

"Has that crazy thing called your mouth stopped spitting random, retarded assumptions yet?" I teased. She rolled her eyes.

"You want more?" She asked with a _very _wide smile that caused me shivers down my spine. It was really creepy, and coming from this scary girl, it was also very _frightening. _Knowing her, her next few assumptions would probably scar my brain and imagination for life.

"Uh, no thanks." I hastily declined, speeding up to get away from her so that I would not be able to hear her

"Slow down! Damn you!" She swore as she sped up to catch up with me. A few seconds later, it was a full-blown race to the meeting point. Even though the streets were awfully crowded, and there was about a 99% chance that we would knock into someone with every single step, we still did it.

After all, they had good reflexes, and no one said that that had to be used in sports and fighting all the time, right?

* * *

"Feels so good to be back with you guys!" Micheal announced exuberantly, spreading his arms wide and giving us a large grin. Several of the gang laughed and replied that they missed him too. Some just smiled, while others (like Clarice) rolled their eyes at his antics.

"Well, what are we eating today? I'm starving!" Grover asked impatiently. We then heard a loud growl from his stomach. The surroundings exploded with sounds of laughter and snorts. Grover's face was as red as a tomato.

"D-damnit! Hurry up!" He stammered, trying to hide his embarrassment with frustration, but to no avail. He was a really lousy actor.

"Alright, alright," I said. "We'll eat Jack's place. Sound good?" I asked the rest of the gang. They all nodded, agreeing with me. I looked at Grover, and noticed the slightly disgusted look on his face.

"That place has really good vegetables…but there's so much stinking steaks there…" he complained in a whiny voice. We all sweat-dropped at that comment.

"Go wear some nose plugs." Thalia suggested. Grover's brows scrunched up.

"I would, but then I would taste the boiling steak as I have to breath through my mouth."

"That makes absolutely no sense, goatboy."

"It does! Sometimes, when I breathe in through my mouth, I can literally taste the smell in the air!"

"…Lets just go." Thalia gave up. Grover was as stubborn as a mule. Not any people could beat him. Grover could sense that the others didn't agree with him, but were too lazy to argue. Because of that, he grumbled all the way from the meeting point to Jack's place.

When I looked around, I frowned. The others were all chatting away happily, their centre of attention being Micheal. Even Thalia. They all hadn't noticed that one of the gang had not even arrived yet.

It was as though they didn't even remember him. All of them were so attracted to Micheal, so excited and happy to see and hang out with him once again, they hadn't noticed that Percy wasn't there.

I frowned at the revelation. Micheal had garnered so much attention, that the gang didn't even know. I scanned the gang carefully once again, and was astounded that almost all of them didn't have a look of confusion on their faces. Not Beckendorf, not Juniper, not Chris and not even Thalia.

The only people who, even though subtly, were confused and looking around as though they were wondering why someone wasn't there were Annabeth and Grover. I saw Grover move towards Annabeth with a questioning look, and figured that I should be there too to discuss it.

"Where's Percy?" I heard Grover ask Annabeth when I reached them.

"Yea, where the hell is that guy?" I asked quizzically. Annabeth sighed.

"I don't know…" Grover's and my eyes widened in shock.

"But…you guys always know where the other one is!" Grover exclaimed in a hushed voice, as though he was afraid the others would hear him. It wasn't an issue, though, as they were so deep in conversation with Micheal to actually notice. Annabeth stared at Grover in bewilderment.

"Why would you say that?" She asked. We both stared at her in astonishment.

"You…seriously don't know?" I asked her in disbelief. She frowned and shook her head.

"Absolutely no idea why I should know where he is." Annabeth said, her gray, stormy eyes filled with confusion.

"Well…it's just 'cause you and him are always together….and you guys practically are inseperable…" Grover muttered. Annabeth looked at him weirdly.

"Huh?" She asked, clueless. I rolled my eyes in exasperation.

"Just think about your relationship with Percy, and when you are NOT with him." I told her. She stared at me for a second or two, then her eyes glazed over as she thought.

"…Oh." She simply said when she was done. Grover and I both face-palmed at that.

"For two years, and you don't even know that you're seen together three quarters of the time…" Grover murmured. I shook my head incredulously.

"Y'know, id we hadn't known better, we would say that you two are already a couple!" I informed her, which caused her to choke on her own saliva and go into a coughing fit.

"What…the…hell…" she said in between gasps. I looked at her, worried but also slightly amused by her reaction. She had a light blush on her cheeks, which made my suspicion grew.

"I have no feelings for him in that way. He's my best friend, for gods' sakes!" She argued. We both snickered at that.

"Well, anyway, back to serious business. Why isn't Percy here? Do you know anything about it?" I asked her. She frowned, and glared at the ground, as though she was contemplating over something that was very big and very serious.

"First, answer me this. If you had a choice, who would you pick? Micheal or Percy?" She asked us, her voice serious. We were both slightly taken aback by the sudden question.

"…I can't really say…" I muttered. "They're both great friends, and have their own ups and downs. But really, they're both awesome." I concluded. Grover nodded in agreement. She stayed quiet for a moment, and then spoke up.

"Which do you trust more?" She asked. We both frowned at the next weird question, but shrugged.

"They're both trustworthy." We said. She sighed, and her shoulders sagged, as though she had finally come to a decision over an important matter.

"I'm trusting you guys then. Don't, and I repeat, DON'T tell this to anyone else." She said, glaring at us like a tigress at its prey. We both nodded quickly, a little scared to defy her. She nodded, and took in a deep breath.

"I don't exactly know why, but Percy really hates Micheal now. An I think it has something to do with Rachel." She said in one breath. We both stared at her, our minds trying to process the newly revealed, impossible information. Percy and Micheal…were not friends anymore?

But that explained a lot too. About why Percy didn't talk to Micheal. Why he wasn't here. And Rachel.

"Also…I find it really disturbing to know that Micheal could just so easily replace the absence of Percy." Annabeth stated. We both thought carefully about her words, and reflected over it.

For the rest of the walk to Jack's place, we lagged behind the rest, each of us deep in our own thoughts.


	9. Lunch

**HI guys! Thanks for all the reviews, yea? Nothing much to say for this chapter except enjoy! :)**

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**Annabeth's POV**

"Man, I've missed this. The food is still as awesome as before!" Micheal praised happily as he chewed on his steak hungrily. We were seated around a huge, large circular table that was covered with a white tablecloth.

"Figures. What did you eat when you were away anyway?" Travis asked curiously. Micheal tapped his chin with his finger as he tried to recall.

"Well, we went to Asia…lots of Japanese, chinese, malay and indian food. Really nice! There were quite a few western restaurants there too, but there's nothing like the original!" He exclaimed cheerfully, pointing his fork towards the smoking steak. They all laughed and agreed with him.

I frowned as I noticed that Thalia was really happy and cheerful. She laughed and talked to him unstoppably. It was really unusual to see her act like this.

The rest of the gang had similar behaviors to her too. They all acted so cheerful, so hyper. I had never seen them in that kind of mood. They had their happy times, but I had never seen Beckendorf guffaw so loudly, or Juniper giggle so highly, or Leo shout so much before…and that's saying a lot.

It was as though they didn't even notice Percy's absence. Almost the whole time, I had been listening attentively to their conversations, trying to pick up any conversations, or even a mention about Percy. I hadn't heard one at all. They were all so..addicted to Micheal, so attracted to him. The only people other than me who were not always talking to him was Nico, me and Grover.

That wasn't a surprise. After all, Percy was in our inner circle. We were the closest to each other out of the rest of the gang. Juniper joined in from time to time, but she wasn't really in the inner circle. It was only because of Grover that she came.

But, what I kind of disapproved of was how Thalia was acting. I had been observing her the most the whole time, and I hadn't seen the slightest hint of confusion or wonderment on her face. All I saw was satisfaction and joy at having Micheal as company. She was in the inner circle, and yet…

"Annabeth, if they weren't that infatuated by Micheal, they would have noticed your killer glare by now." Grover whispered teasingly, causing me to snap out of my thoughts and immediately correct my facial expression.

"I wasn't glaring." I denied blatantly, but we both knew that I was lying. Nico chuckled at us, but I could see the discomfort in his eyes.

My eyes widened slightly when I realized that he was probably the most hurt out of all of us. I mean, Thalia's his girlfriend, for gods' sakes! And she was paying more attention to Micheal than she was to her own boyfriend.

"Can you give Percy a call?" Grover asked, making sure that his voice could not be heard by the rest of the gang, who was being all rowdy and noisy. They didn't seem to notice us, nor did they seem to care at all.

"I doubt he'll answer the call, y'know. He tends to be…uh…" I trailed off, not knowing how to describe. However, Grover and Nico seemed to know what I was referring to. Well, they _were_ his best friends for years.

"Yea, I know. I guess we'll have to visit him later then." Nico declared. We nodded in agreement.

"Hey, guys! What'cha guys talking 'bout so seriously?" Leo asked loudly, seemingly appearing behind us from nowhere. We all jumped back from each other and gasped, causing Leo to start laughing uncontrollably.

"Not funny, bastard!" Nico glared at him, but I could see the amusement twinkling in his eyes, and the slight quirk of his lips.

"Whatever! Come and join in the convo, dead boy!" He teased before going back to his seat and once again adding his lame and idiotic jokes into the commotion. We all sighed and shook out heads in exasperation as we saw him stick a straw in his nose. He was still the silliest and most idiotic person we have ever encountered in our lives. At least, in mine.

"Hey, Annabeth!" Micheal suddenly called my name. My head snapped towards him, and I looked at him cautiously. He was waving with a cheeky grin plastered on his face. "Care to join in! I know you're the newest, but doesn't mean that you have to be so shy!" I almost snorted when I heard his assumption of me.

I nodded and gave him a grin and a thumbs up, which he shot right back at me. He then went back to his conversations. I looked at Nico and Grover quizzically.

"Is he always so random? I had not said a word to him for the past twenty minutes, and _now_ he asks me to join in?" I asked them in disbelief. They both chuckled.

"He's a little slow, and random? In terms of randomness, the only people he loses to are Leo and the Stoll brothers. " Grover informed me with laughter in his voice.

"Hm…" I hummed as I pondered. Micheal had taken twenty minutes to notice that I wasn't talking. Nico and Grover had said that he was a little slow…but what if it was just because he had not noticed, because he did not even care about us?

Frustration bubbled inside me as I actually felt hurt that I wasn't important to him. Why the hell was I so worried whether he saw me as an important person or not?

"We'd better join in the convo, before they start to suspect something." Nico suggested. We nodded and went in, contributing to the insufferably loud commotion caused by the gang.

* * *

"I wonder why they didn't chase us out of the restaurant, seeing how noisy and ridiculously hyperactive we were just now." I muttered in irritation. Nico laughed and patted my back lightly.

"Don't get irritated so soon. The worst has yet to come." I looked at him incredulously, and then looked at Grover, expecting him to be laughing as though what Nico said was a joke. Instead, he was nodding.

"Yea, you haven't seen the gang when Micheal plays his guitar." He added in. They both talked about it as though it was something amazing, but horrifying at the same time.

"So I take it that the gang loves his music a lot?" I asked.

"Yup." They replied simultaneously.

"I'd like to hear it one day. Want to see how good he really is…" I muttered. We had finished eating lunch a while ago and were now on the way back home. Thalia had said that she would catch up with us soon, choosing to follow Micheal for a while more.

"He's really good. Anyway, we're here." Grover stated.

"That was fast."

"Time flies when you're having fun!" Nico exclaimed. The three of us smiled at each other, and then Nico stepped forward and pressed the doorbell.

"Hey, Percy, in there?" He shouted at the door. For a few seconds, everything was silent. We almost gave up and walked away when we heard a voice from inside the house.

"Coming, coming, wait…" It said, and the front door opened to reveal Percy, with his usual curly black hair and sharp and energetic sea-green eyes. His hair was wet though, as though he had just taken a shower. His face, which initially looked really displeased, transformed into one of curiousness and cheerfulness.

"OH, its you guys! Come on in!" He exclaimed, stepping to the side and motioning for us to come in, grinning like a chesire cat.

Once we were all in comfortably, he went to the kitchen and poured some coke for us.

"So," He started, handing the cup of coke to me. "What brings you here today? Thought you were having fun with Micheal…" He trailed off. We stayed quiet for a few moments, until I couldn't take it anymore.

"We were wondering why you didn't arrive for lunch today." I explained, choosing to break the ice.

"Oh, I wanted to practice some swordsmanship today, so I didn't have that much time. As you can see, I just bathed." He said, pointing at his slightly dripping hair.

"Really?" Grover asked. Percy nodded and gave him a smile.

"Yea, really. I promise I'll be there for the next lunch," He told us. "By the way, where's Thalia? She doesn't seem to be accompanying you right now." He asked us. We exchanged looks.

"She went and stayed with the gang for a while more. Told us to move back first." Nico replied. Even though it was very subtle, I could see the slight disappointment that surfaced into his eyes, the very slight sag of his shoulders, and the very faint waver of his smile.

"Oh…yea, I guess that's reasonable…" He seemed to be talking to himself. He studied the ground for a shot moment, and then looked up once again, his posture back to normal.

"Well, thanks for caring!" He exclaimed joyously. "Really appreciate it! Do you guys still wanna stay here, or do you have something on?" He asked them. He didn't bother to ask me, but that was reasonable, since I lived just next to him, so he didn't need to ask me.

"Sure. I'm waiting for Thalia to come back anyway." Nico shrugged nonchalantly.

"I'll stick around for a while more." Grover told us. Percy seemed to be happy at that, and for a moment, I saw the loneliness he had been hiding inside him show in his eyes, but it was considerably lessened by the presence of three of his inner circle.

"Good! I'll bring more food out, and maybe we can discuss 'bout what you did today." He said brightly, and walked to the kitchen to get more drinks and food.


	10. Fries

**Hi guys! Sorry for the late update! I've been writing a story about the new ps3 game "last of us" and recently completed it, so i'm back! :D**

**I have exams around the corner, so i won't be able to write that quickly. And i'm planning to wrote a type of post-apoalyptic story in percy jackson. **

**anyway, hope you liked this chapter! :D**

**Pls R&R!**

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**Percy's POV**

She knew. She had spotted it. I cursed myself for letting the slight waver of control. Grover and Nico probably wouldn't have noticed.

But Annabeth was a whole different story. She was smart, she was sharp, she was intelligent.

And for the past two years, she had been the closest friend I had ever had.

I mean, every time I recalled about the past two years or so, I would find out that I had spent way more time with Annabeth than anyone else. Okay, maybe it was reasonable since she was my neighbor, but heck, I spent more time with her than even with Thalia, who was, even now, currently living under the same roof.

I gritted my teeth in frustration, my hand snatching the one and a half litre bottle of coke off the fridge and closing the door with a little more force than needed.

I was frustrated, not because of her, but because of the way I was reacting to the whole situation.

I had known that one day, Micheal would come back, and when he did, the whole gang would be infatuated with him. I had thought I was prepared for the loss, for the shift of attention, even with all my close friends.

They didn't know a thing about what had happened between him, Rachel and me. No, they had no clue at all. And I had planned to keep it that way. Telling them about the whole event would cause them to take sides. Some would support Micheal, as they would think Micheal would never do such terrible things.

But, maybe it was because I was, deep down, convinced that no one would ever believe me, would take my side, and I would lose their friendship and trust forever. So I refrained from spilling out the truth, deciding to keep quiet and rather have them enjoying his presence as well as considering me as a friend than taking his side and totally hating me for "making up stories".

However, when he had returned, I found out that I wasn't as prepared as I thought. I had tried to block all the emotions-jealousy, hate, pain- from my heart, but when I saw the gang flock around him, treating him so well and friendly, anger and jealousy had exploded in my heart.

But I still kept quiet. Even as I saw Thalia drifting away from me to him. Even as I saw Beckendorf and Silena fawning over him and not even noticing my presence.

I had actually been utterly astonished that Grover and Nico had came back, and secretly overjoyed that they did. Annabeth too, though I had a feeling she wouldn't exactly trust Micheal straight away. She wasn't stupid, which I am greatly thankful for.

The only thing I couldn't do, the only time I lost control of my mouth, was with Annabeth. I couldn't stop myself from warning her, from telling her to be careful around him. Why I did that only to her, I don't know.

Perhaps over the years, she had grown on me so much, that currently; she's the most important person in my life.

Way to make it sound like I am head over heels in love with her, huh? Fact is, I have no idea. Ever since Rachel, my heart had grown numb when it came to that department.

And I can't start loving another girl. Not yet. Maybe not ever.

"Food's ready." I announced with a wide grin as I set the tray of food down on the table. There were four cups, filled to the brim with cold, gassy coke. There was a large plate filled with quite a number of French fries too, with some cheese in a small bowl beside the plate.

After setting down the tray, I took a seat beside Annabeth. "I thought you guys just had lunch?" I asked, my eyebrow raised as I watched them eat the fries like a starved animal. Grover chuckled, miraculously not spitting out any food out of his mouth by accident.

"Well, Jack's place is a place filled with meat and stuff…I didn't have much." He explained, his words barely able to make out due to it being distorted by his filled mouth. Nico leaned away from him with a disgusted look on his face, and Annabeth laughed at their antics.

"Stop. I'm quite afraid you'd spit all of that stuff in your mouth onto me." Nico said in a wary tone, his hands pushing Grover away form him slightly. Grover chuckled again. Once again, nothing came out of his mouth but distorted sounds.

"Grover, seriously, cough on Nico all you want, but not in my house." I said in a lighthearted tone. Grover almost guffawed, but managed to swallow all his food-more like chocked down all of it- and laughed loudly at my comment. Nico glared at me, whilst Annabeth merely smiled in amusement.

"Ha. Ha. Very funny, Percy." Nico said sarcastically as he slowly moved to seat properly on the couch. I grinned at him cheekily and shrugged.

"So, what did Micheal talk to you guys about?" I asked, trying to keep the displeasure out of my voice, forcing myself to sound upbeat as I asked them. The curiosity was genuine, so it made the job a little easier.

Grover and Nico winced. "They were way too loud for their own good," Grover commented as he ate another fry, this time one by one and not with a whole mouthful at one go. "Nico, Annabeth and I generally stayed out of the conversations as we didn't want to be involved if any trouble happens."

"Yea, but I guess they had a good reason to," Nico said. "It's Micheal first lunch with the gang in years. Bound to get overexcited, huh?"

"I guess. So that means you guys don't know what they talked about?" I asked them, pretending to casually pick up a fry, while in fact, my alertness was at its peak, trying to catch every singe detail, every shift, every expression that the three of them had.

"Not a clue. Maybe something about music?" Grover chuckled at that. "Wait, its always about music. So yea." I gave a wry smile at that.

"Micheal's always been crazy about music, and the gang were always crazy about his music." The others nodded in agreement. All except Annabeth, who had not even said a word yet. Figures, since she never knew Micheal from before.

"By the way," Annabeth suddenly cut in, and I could hear the seriousness in her tone. I knew that trouble was coming. The frown on her face, the crease on her brows was enough to tell me that. "Tell us, what feud do you have with Micheal?"

"Nothing." I winced mentally, noting that I had answered a little too quickly, a little too hastily. She looked at me with those grey, stormy intelligent eyes.

"I know its not "nothing" Percy," She stated forcefully, and I could hear the frustration in her voice. "I want to know what happened between you and him? I may not have known your relationship with him in the past, but according to the rest, you, him and this girl called Rachel were inseparable in the past!"

I stiffened up as I heard Rachel's name, and for a moment, I lose control of my expression, letting pain, anger and guilt wash over it, before managing to control it again.

"Nothing." I repeated, my tone leaving no room for argument. The atmosphere had tensed up dramatically, in a matter of seconds. Annabeth stared, and stared, trying to discern my reaction, trying to spot a hint of anything at all. After a few seconds, she sighed and leaned back, giving up.

"Whatever." She said grumpily, wearily, as she closed her eyes. I suddenly felt guilt again, and it was directed to her. She was just worried. Why did I act so cold to her?x

Unfortunately, what's done is done. The house was filled with silence until only the sound of Grover munching his fries away could be heard.

"Can you eat more quietly?" Nico snapped at Grover after ten awkward seconds. Grover took a big gulp form his coke.

"Sorry," he whined. "I'm just so hungry!" He reached out and took another fistful of fries from the already emptying plate. I glanced to the side, and was relieved to see that Annabeth was smiling, seeming to forget what had just happened.

"Want me to make more fries?" I asked. Grover shook his head, waving his hand frantically.

"Oh, no, don't go through so much trouble. I'm getting full already anyway." He said.

"That's because you almost ate everything. I wanted some too, y'know!" He growled at Grover in annoyance. Annabeth and I chuckled.

"Sorry bro. Maybe next time." Grover apologized, chewing on his fries. Nico's eye twitched as he watched Grover eat.

Just as he was about to knock Grover down, the main door opened, revealing a very cheerful and joyful Thalia. She had a grin like a chesire cat plastered on her face, and her face almost beamed radiantly. I hadn't seen her that happy in years, except for when she was with Nico.

I felt a small twinge of jealousy. Micheal had made her so happy in a matter of days, while I had failed to do that for a long, long time. Nico didn't count, as he was her boyfriend after all.

"Nico!" She proclaimed, surprised. "I didn't know you'd still be here!" Nico smiled widely at her and shrugged nonchalantly.

"Well, decided to stay for a while. You guys done with the outing?" he asked curiously. Thalia nodded enthusiastically.

"Yea! Hey, I'll walk you home, yea? I have so much to tell you about what happened today!" Thalia almost squealed. Squealed. _Squealed._

What the fuck?

Nico nodded warily. Even he was a little weirded out by her behavior. She rarely acted like that.

"Fine. Fine. Lets go, then?" he asked, walking towards her and offering his hand. She took it as fast as lightning and pulled him through the door.

"I'll be back later, Percy!" She shouted behind as she dragged Nico along he pavement towards his house. Grover, Annabeth and I stared at the open doorway, not able to react. It had happened so quickly.

"Well…" Grover started. "I guess I'll be going then. See ya around, Percy, Annabeth." He said, nodding at both of us.

"Yea. See ya around. Next time, you owe me a plate of fries." I teased. He looked at me with mock hurt.

"I thought we were friends!" He exclaimed, a look of hurt and horror on her face, which was replaced by a playful and teasing one a second later. "Fine, fine. Next time. Bye!" He said, waving his hand as he walked out of the house.

The house suddenly fell into an eerie silence. I sighed and scratched the back of my neck, finally taking a sip from my cup of coke. Annabeth did the same.

"You working tomorrow?" I asked unnecessarily. She always worked on Fridays, and Mondays, and Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, and Saturdays.

"Of course." She replied.

"You really need to take more breaks. You work too much for a girl your age." I stated. She sighed and twirled her hair.

"Do I have any other choice?" She said quietly. I didn't know how to reply to that.

I could tell her that I had no problem paying for her funds. I could tell her that she didn't even have to work if I were to take care of her.

But that would make her think that I see her as a weakling. She would think I'm helping her out of pity and sympathy, and that would destroy whatever friendship, relationship, whatever-ship that is between us.

I certainly didn't want that to happen.

"I guess I'll be going." She stood up after draining the remnants of the coke in the cup.

"Will you come over for dinner tonight?"

"…Maybe. And we'll discuss whatever…you've forgotten to tell me, okay?" She asked, and my heart sank. She wasn't going to give up. I exhaled wearily.

"…See you later, then." I replied in a tired voice. She nodded and walked out of the house. Just before she left, she said something.

"Thalia never asked you why you didn't come," She said, her back turned towards me. I winced at her statement. "I want to know the past Percy. At least, since I've shared my problems with you, can't you share your burdens with me?"

She then walked out, her words echoing in my brain, over and over again.


	11. Their story(part one)

**YO GUYS! long time no update HAHA Sorry people, I've been having a lot of stress on fencing competitions and studies nowadays, plus church and stuff, so i've had a really busy schedule and no time for writing at all.**

**I'll try to update as soon as possible, but there's still lots of tests and exams coming up, so no promises there. Sorry, really .**

**Anyway, i hope you'd enjoy this chapter! I didn't check it again, as usual, and i think i was quite repetitive with a few words, but really, i'm mentally exhausted nowadays. Maybe i'll change it in a few days.**

**Anyway, Thanks for all the favs and follows and stuff! Really appreciate them! And the reviews, REALLY THANKS A LOT PEOPLE!**

**Btw, if you guys have any questions or wanna contact me, please just follow me on some social network or sth, cuz i rarely check pms on fan fiction...sorry HAHA **

**ENjoy!**

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******Annabeth's POV**

To say that I wasn't hurt would be the greatest lie of all time. Didn't Percy trust me enough? Didn't he know me well enough to know that I can keep secrets?

That's not all. I mean, I've shared all my burdens-no…_most_ of my burdens with him, but only just got hit by the revelation that he had never, ever shared any problems with me before.

Maybe it was because Percy was always so carefree and happy. Maybe it was because he always smiled and grinned. Maybe it was because I never saw him grief over anything before.

He never seemed to have issues with anything. He was always cheerful and exuberant, kind and caring, treating almost everyone in a friendly way (with the exception of Ivan) and seemed to be free of troubles in the world.

Until recently, that is.

I've never seen him so dark. It was a new side of him. A side that I had never saw before from the time I knew him. Such pain, such sadness, such grief, such loneliness.

And even though he tried to conceal it, I could spot it. The anger, the hatred. I had spent so much time with him; it was clear as day that he had something against Micheal. Something very personal.

Wait, no. I had seen it before. Once, a very, very long time ago, and for only a very short period of time.

It was when he had rescued me from Ivan and his lackeys, two long years ago. He had been so…scary. His eyes held such ferocity in them, such burning anger and intense hatred towards Ivan, that I had actually wondered whether it had been Percy who saved me or just a doppelganger.

I had, after a few weeks of pondering over that completely different Percy, given up and succeeded in putting the "dark" Percy at the back of my mind. Looks like I can't ignore it anymore.

I looked at the clock. Seven. I sighed and stood up from my study table, closing my half-finished chemistry homework book given by the school. Normally, I would have been able to finish it already, but due to my mind being constantly distracted by thoughts of Percy, I had not been able to fully concentrate on the work.

"What should I wear…" I muttered to myself as I shifted through the number of clothes neatly hanged with hangars in the wardrobe. Over the years, Silena and the other girls in the gang had convinced me to get more clothes, and I had taken their advice.

I still didn't have that many clothes- only around ten to fifteen sets- but at least it was better than having only two or three sets.

I finally decided to don a casual grey three-quarter-sleeve crew neck cotton shirt and a pair of light brown Bermuda. Normally, I would wear more formal clothes to visit anyone's house. But this was Percy, and he never cared about formalities.

* * *

I smiled as I took a whiff of the delicious smell of the food coming from the kitchen. I could tell by the smell that it was western food today, like lunch. The cooking steak, the fried wedges and everything else…he always made the best ones.

That's part of the reason why I never ate the restaurant's food for dinner whenever I worked. Percy's meals for midnight dinner were always something I looked forward to, one of the few motivators that made me work at my best. He made foods that were far better than any other food I've ever eaten.

Very often, I've suggested he go and set up his own restaurant, but every time, he would shake his head and say "Nah, not my type of work."

I walked into the kitchen to see him already seated in front of the table. His expression was unreadable, but by his posture, and his eyes, I could tell that he was tense and cautious. His head snapped towards me, his sea-green eyes observing my attire.

"You wear too much grey." Was his first comment, and he gave me a small grin. I scowled.

"You know it's my favorite color, Seaweed Brain." I retorted.

"Whatever you say, Wise Girl," He shrugged. "You sitting down? I'm hungry as hell." He asked, pointing at the seat opposite him. I rolled my eyes.

"Yea, yea. I'm hungry too." I said as I walked over and took a seat. My mouth had already started watering by then. The food always looked, smelled and tasted good. So imagining the taste was already enough.

Percy immediately picked up his knife and fork as soon as I sat down. "Let's dig in, then." He said eagerly. Without waiting for a reply, he started to cut the steak already. I sighed in resignation. I had wanted to start the conversation about Rachel immediately, but Percy was obviously not in the mood to talk about it yet.

Quietly, I obliged and started to eat too. I wasn't surprised with how scrumptious it was.

After ten minutes of awkward silence, we were both done with our meals. Percy finished first, and had already started on washing his own dishes. I could tell that he was still in his own world, probably thinking about what to say later on.

"What are you so scared of?" I asked suddenly, surprising both him and myself. The words just came out, without me willing myself to say it. His whole attention was focused on me now, and I shivered slightly at the look of his eyes.

It was way darker now. I had long discovered that the best way to read Percy was through his eyes, and right now, I could tell that he was really, really angry, but that wasn't the only emotion I noticed. There was uncertainty too, as well as a mix of emotions that I couldn't identify.

"…Later. Not now. After the dishes." He answered coldly, before turning back to doing the dishes but I could tell that he was in a rush now. His hands were moving at a faster pace than before. I quickly went back to eating my food.

His answer was not exactly a good one, but now I knew that he was planning to share whatever happened before with me later. There was a possibility that he would only share a very small portion of the whole story, but it was better than nothing, I guess.

I started to eat faster, gulfing down all my food. As much as I loved his food and wanted to enjoy it, there were more important matters at hand.

* * *

Percy placed a cup of fizzing coke in front of me before taking a seat on the sofa. He was trying to be comfortable, but the constant shifting of his body told me that he wasn't succeeding.

"So…"I started, raising an eyebrow at him. He glanced at me, and I was surprised with his expression. It looked…different from before. Had he come to a decision already?

"Annabeth. Are you sure you want to hear this?" He asked, his tone dead serious, his face grave and dark. I hesitated for a moment. There was something in his tone, something that was covered by the seriousness. It was as though he didn't want to tell me not because of himself, but because he wanted to protect someone else.

"Yes." I said, staring right into his eyes, determined to know the truth. I wasn't going to back out just because whatever he was going to reveal was dark and stuff. He's already helped me so much, with my problems and all. What kind of friend would I be, how selfish would it be to back out just because his problems were dark and scary?

He scrutinized me, his eyes travelling across my face, my body posture, and finally my eyes. He observed them with so much concentration, that I knew that he was reading me perfectly well. He was a master at reading people.

"You're not gonna give up." It wasn't a question. It was a statement. He sighed in resignation and leaned back into the sofa.

"No, I'm not." I confirmed, even though it didn't need any confirmation. He was already sure that he was right.

"Alright then. But, Annabeth, I want you to keep this a secret. Do not anyone else about what I'm about to tell you," I opened my mouth to protest, but he cut me off before I could even start. "Promise me!" He hissed persistently, his eyes narrowed. I felt an involuntary shiver run down my back.

At that very moment, he looked like a hardened, cold veteran killer. I stiffened at the thought.

Was it possible? Was it possible that he killed Rachel? And to save his own skin, he was telling me to promise not to reveal anything to anyone else in fear of being found out?

I immediately shot that idea out of my head. I knew Percy, and he would never do that. He was a responsible person, and he wouldn't be afraid to face consequences pertaining to only him. If it affected someone else, though…

"Alright. I promise not to say a single thing about what you're about to tell me to anyone at all." I replied. He studied me for another short moment before nodding. He picked up his glass of coke and took a long sip before placing it back down on the table with a satisfactory sigh.

"Well, we probably won't be able to reach that part yet…" He muttered to himself. "Anyway, I think we'll only be able to go through a part of it. It's a long story…" He told me with a small smile. I nodded.

"I met Rachel in my first year here," He finally started. He was looked into thin air, his eyes already faraway, seeing his past as he told it. "As you know, our school allows people to come from a very young age."

"I met her when I was twelve, which means four years before you arrived," He shot me a weak grin. "Man, she was one of the craziest and weirdest girl I had ever met."

"Believe it or not, at that time, I was very unsociable. I didn't talk to anyone. I always sat alone and decided to be a lone wolf rather than join a clique." I looked at him skeptically. He caught the look, and chuckled. "It's really true." He insisted.

"That carried on for around three weeks. I was always alone in the hallway, I sat alone in the canteen, I kept quiet and minded my own business. I was wary of everyone." He continued. I frowned at him. Why was he wary of everyone? I didn't voice out my question though.

"Then came a very…eccentric girl. She had green eyes and red, curly hair that went down to the middle of her back. The first ten seconds I talked to her, I already decided that she was weird." He let out a bark of laughter.

"She sat beside me during break time, placing her tray beside me and sitting down without any permission at all. She them immediately introduced herself. I didn't reply, but that didn't matter to her. She merely talked on about community projects and how painting herself gold would be able to get money for animals and stuff." After hearing what he said, I also decided she was weird.

"She followed me everywhere from that day on, always talking, even though I never said a word to her. Finally, one day, I couldn't take it anymore. Who the hell stays with a person and talks to him so much when he never even replied once?"

"I asked her why. Why she was so stubborn and decided to stick to me even though I never replied. Her answer…surprised me to no end, to say the least." He laughed softly as he recalled her words. As I looked at him, I saw him as a different person from his usual self. He looked so much older, as though he had seen and experienced things that many people, even adults, have never experienced before. He looked a thousand years old.

"She said that she just liked to hang around me. Nothing more, nothing less," He shook his head with a soft chuckle. "From then on, I started to talk to her. Over the span of two years, we became best friends. By then, we had already formed the gang, which you and I are in right now."

"No one knew at that time, but I had slowly begun to fall for her," He said. "We spent so much time together. We always went out to arcades and amusement parks and places of enjoyment to hang out. People had already started to call us a couple."

"I was okay with the rumors, but what I was afraid of was that Rachel would feel awkward around me and try to avoid me. However, the total opposite happened," He had a look of pure joy now on his face.

"One day, she suddenly asked whether I really liked her. It was at night, when we were sitting at the beach, staring at the stars twinkling brightly in the sky, feeling the sea breeze blow against our faces gently." He smiled gently. "I told her yes, and she kissed me." He gave a longing sigh.

My mind suddenly went back to all the times we went to the Manhatten beach. **(I made this up HAHA) **

While the others always ran around and had fun, Percy always seemed to disappear. It occurred to me that he might have been spending his time at the spot where he and Rachel had been at.

"Well, after that, we went into a relationship. The others weren't surprised when we announced it. Everyone was already expecting it." I shook my head. It must have been really obvious, then.

"Micheal came two months after that," I immediately noticed the change in his tone. Before, it had been filled with longing, pain, but also joy and blissfulness. Now, it was only cold and emotionless, with an underlying anger. "He joined the school, and immediately became one of the most popular people in the school." I frowned at that. What made him so special?

"He was really, really talented in the music department. He performed on the stage during assembly, and immediately garnered everyone's attention with his singing and playing." Percy said darkly. I kept quiet, as though making a single sound would make Percy change his mind.

"He came up to out gang and talked to us, out of nowhere. Of course, the whole gang accepted him. Firstly, they were amazed by his skill in music, and secondly, as you know, they're nice and friendly people." Percy glanced at me before going back to glaring at anything and everything.

"However, we never really talked until sometime later. There was this national competition, and he needed help. He was only one person, and he needed a person who knew how to play a piano and drums." I could guess where this was going.

I had spotted the drum set Percy had in his music room at the second floor countless times.

"Rachel was excellent with the piano, and I was good with the drums. So we both volunteered to help. That was when we really started out close-knit relationship." Percy said, and then went to take a long sip of his coke.

He had started to open his mouth again to continue his captivating story, but was rudely interrupted by the front door opening. Both out heads snapped towards the door to find a cheerful Thalia walking in.

"Yo, Percy!" She said with a large smile. "I can already smell the delicious food from here! Hey Annabeth!" She waved at me. I grinned at her and waved back.

"What took you so long? I thought you were just walking Nico home? Percy asked. I was surprised at his tone, my eyes shifting swiftly to him. I was astounded by what I saw.

Everything, every single trace of him just a minute ago was gone, replaced by the usual, crazy, out-going Percy we all always saw.

"We got sidetracked a little," She said, mischievousness bright in her eyes. "A little trip though a shopping mall." Percy rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"Yea, now I get it." He stated, his face deadpanned. Thalia chuckled and turned towards the kitchen.

"Well, I'm kinda hungry. Gonna gulp down your food again. I can already guess it's western." She laughed and walked into the kitchen. We both stared at her back as she walked around the kitchen happily, with a skip in her step.

"Ever since Nico…she's been way too happy for her own good…" Percy muttered to himself. I looked at him pointedly.

"Another day, I guess?" I asked quizzically. He glanced at me, and then sighed. He's been sighing a lot lately…which means he's probably toodamn stressed for his own good.

"Yea, yea…" He agreed with resignation. I nodded and walked towards the kitchen.

"Hey, Thalia, I'm going off now. See you tomorrow!" I called. She waved her hand without even looking back at me, as she was too busy stuffing fries into her mouth. I huffed in annoyance before walking back towards Percy. He was already picking up the glasses of coke from the table.

"See you tomorrow. And Percy," I grabbed his hand. He shifted his gaze from the cups to me. "Whatever it is, know that I'm here to help, if you ever need it." I whispered to him. I could see the gears in his head turning as he contemplated upon his answer. Finally, he decided to just nod.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Percy agreed. I gave him a last wave before walking out of the house to my own one.

That night, I couldn't sleep well. My mind couldn't get itself to rest. Percy's story about his past was so intriguing, I could barely retrain the urge to rush all the way to Percy's house and ask him to finish the story.

I didn't know when, or how I slept. But all I knew was that I fell asleep thinking about Rachel and Percy, trying to imagine what Rachel looked like.


	12. Shock

**Ok so i know that i haven't been posting for a long while...i'm sorry.**

**Its just that i'e been really busy, and still am. I probably won't post another chapter till around three weeks later. **

**NOw, before you start screaming at me, i have to inform you that my end of year exams are starting, and for the past few weeks, i've been studying, so no time. Also, writing this story already caused me quite a fair bit of time, so yea.**

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter. There's a little foreshadowing at the end, and i'll leave the rest to your imagination until next time.**

**Anyway, thanks for the reviews! AND please bear with me till my exams are over! :D**

**R&R!**

* * *

**Nico's POV**

Something was off. I could tell by the constant scrutinizing looks shot at Micheal by Annabeth, and the fact that Percy was missing from class merely proved it even further.

Even though Percy is rather known for missing a few classes, very rarely did he miss the first class of the day, unless he was busy or had something on.

However, seeing that he had arrived with Annabeth to school, he probably wasn't busy or anything. I mean, if he was, would he have walked all the way in, put his bag in the locker, and disappear into thin air?

Annabeth wasn't looking the least bit worried about Percy's absence either, which either meant that she had forgotten about him, or she knew why Percy wasn't attending the class. Ninety percent chance it's the latter.

Grover seemed to have noticed it too. He turned to me and gave me a questioning glance, as though I would know what's happening. I shrugged and shook my head. I didn't know a thing.

I wondered what Percy and Annabeth had talked the day before. I know that Thalia had interrupted an extremely important conversation when she barged into the house, but I didn't know what the conversation was all about. And I haven't gotten a chance to ask since then.

After the bell rang, I immediately stalked up to Annabeth. "Hey," I greeted her as I stood in front of her desk whilst she packed her stuff. She looked up and gave me a small smile as she realized whom it was.

"Hi," She greeted in a pleasant voice. "What is it?" She asked quizzically. I pretended to be offended.

"Can't I just say hi to a good friend?" I asked. She rolled her eyes.

"Ha. Ha. Like you ever say hi to anyone. You're like some emo boy unless you're with Thalia." I sputtered excuses out instantly, but knew I had lost as Annabeth chuckled.

"So, what's this about?" She asked as she zipped up her bag and stood up. "Walk and talk?" she offered. I nodded and walked alongside her to our lockers.

"So…Where's Percy?" She gave a sideway glance at me, and sighed. She looked like she wanted to tell me something, but couldn't.

"I don't really know…" She replied. When she saw my skeptical face, she sighed in exasperation.

"I really don't know. The last time I saw him was when we were at the class entrance. He said that he needed to go blow off some steam and told me he'll come find me later." She explained. I studied her expression, and figured that she wasn't lying.

"Aren't you worried?" I asked. Annabeth frowned at that.

"Of course."

"Then why…"

"Let's just say…" Annabeth exhaled heavily. "I may have an idea why he needs to blow off the steam." She explained. I was really tempted to ask her what it was, but I knew that she wouldn't tell me.

"Oh…okay." I replied simply, not knowing what else to say. A somewhat comfortable silence descended upon them. He wasn't as close to Annabeth as Percy was, but he and Annabeth was,

It actually hurt a bit to know that Percy told Annabeth but not me, but I had to admit, albeit a little reluctantly, that Percy and Annabeth had a bond that not many did.

Comparing our their bond to Percy's bonds with the rest of the gang, even to mr and Grover, their bond was much more...strong. Much more sturdy. They were closer to each other than they were to any one else. As though they were brother and sister.

A small thought flitted through my head. Looking at them…they may actually be a couple in the future. Of course, there was a large possibility that they would never become a couple at all. I shook the thought out of his head.

We passed by the training hall for the Weapon Art class as we walked silently to our lockers. Annabeth suddenly halted in mid-step, a frown appearing onto her face. I stopped walking and looked back, his eyebrow raised.

"…I think I might know where Percy MIGHT be…" Annabeth told me. My eyes widened a little in surprise.

"Where?" I asked curiously. Annabeth pointed right at the door beside her- the door to the hall for training.

"…I get it." I said, feeling a little stupid that I never even thought he would be in there. I mean, it was a well-known fact that Percy adored practicing with his sword. He even had his own training hall in his house to practice.

Since he was in school, the only place to practice-and let off some steam- was the Weapon Art Class training hall.

"Wanna check it?" She asked me. I nodded immediately. She then opened the door and stepped in quietly, as though she didn't want to disturb anyone who was inside. I followed suit.

We both breathed a small sigh of relief when we saw Percy practicing in the hall. He was sweating profusely, droplets of sweat already dripping from his face and hair to the ground. His muscles were all tense and his face told us that he was fully concentrated on slashing through all the straw dummies before him.

Even after so many years, I still couldn't help but admire his swordsmanship. I've watched the world championships for swordsmanship before, being a swordsman myself, and I've seen plenty of professional swordsmen who wielded their swords as though they were as heavy as a twig.

Even after all that, I still am certain that if Percy actually participated in the world championships, he would be in the top four in the world, maybe even the top two…maybe even the best! Even though for that, I'm not quite certain..

The best in the world…I watched his performance, and the only thing I can describe him is the word "monster".

The way his sword flew, the way he moved, rolled, jumped, as though he was doing a graceful dance. He parried blades as though they moved at a centimeter per hour. He struck as fast as lightning and dodged like it was a piece of cake.

He had stayed as the world champion for five years already, including this year's one. He was a prodigy, achieving the title "world champion" only at the age of sixteen. Extremely hard to believe, but it's true. He beat way older, and way more experienced swordsmen.

But, as I looked at Percy, I realized that I've never actually seen Percy go all out before. Even now, as he "killed" the straw dummies, I could see that he wasn't putting all his effort into it, and he was already comparable to the world champion.

"Man…sometimes, I wonder…" I couldn't help but mutter out loud. Annabeth looked at me quizzically.

"Wonder what?" She asked me. I sighed and gave her a tiny smile.

"Sometimes, I wonder whether how good he really is with that sword of his."

"You mean Riptide?" I nodded.

"…Yea, I wonder that too," She said after a moment of silence. She stared at Percy as he continued hacking through dummies. "He had never given his all. Heck, none of us are at the level that can make him give his best." She chuckled as she finished. I chuckled too, totally agreeing with her. I've tried to spar with him many times, and he swept the floor with me all the time.

"I wonder whether he can compare with the world champion…" I said. "What do you think?" I asked Annabeth.

I was a little taken aback when her head snapped towards me so quickly, so suddenly that I even jumped away from her. At that very moment, I saw something that I would never be able to forget.

In a split second, her face had turned form healthy red to pale, oh so pale white. Her eyes were really, really wide, and her grey eyes were filled with pure shock and…fear. Her facial expressions were all tensed up, and her body was hunched, as though it was prepared to flee at the first sight of any danger. Her mouth was parted slightly, and she looked like she was ready to scream.

She looked traumatized, scared, fearful, and what was worse, was that there was a hint of insanity and madness in her already dark aura.

She looked like a cornered, abused animal.

She looked at me as though I was about to kill her…or rape her.

Another split second, and she was out of the hall, leaving me behind to stare at swinging door and process what had just happened.

Percy did not notice us at all, and neither did he notice me leaving the hall as I recovered from my shock and went to search for Annabeth.


End file.
